Sarah O’Brien is alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago—James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely.

Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’s best friend—and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on—for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realize James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact…

Kate Avelynn lives in Central Oregon with her husband, whom she fell in love with at eighteen after realizing he shared her obsession with music, sports, and psychoanalysis. When not devouring books, holding down her editing gig, or attempting to coax life out of the weed patch she calls a “garden,” Kate writes dark, young adult romance that blends first love, betrayal, and danger. FLAWED is her debut novel.

+ Hey Sarah and Sam! Thanks so much for stopping by Words, Pages, and Books. It’s a complete honor to have the both of you!

Sarah: Thank you. *smiles and squeezes Sam’s hand*

Sam: Yeah, thanks for inviting us, Jessirae.

So let’s get started..

+ Can you describe each other in three words?

Sarah: Intense. Responsible. Sweet.

Sam: Beautiful. Loyal. Caring. Sexy.

Sarah: *blushes* That’s four words, Mr. UCLA.

Sam: What can I say? Three wasn’t enough.

+ I definitely agree with that! What do you like the most about each other?

Sarah: His eyes. His smile. How I feel when I’m with him—like I can be anything I want to be.

Sam: Definitely the way she looks at me. She could never say it and I’d still know she loves me.

+Sam, if you could take Sarah anywhere, where would it be and why? What about you, Sarah?

Sam: I want to take her to Disneyland pretty bad. My dad always said you haven’t lived unless you’ve been on a rollercoaster. Plus, I really think she’ll like Southern California. With all that sunshine, there’s hardly any moss. *grins at Sarah*

Sarah: Ugh, let’s not talk about moss. Hmm. If I could take Sam anywhere, it’d probably be back up to Mack Lake. Except, this time we’d be alone. With our own two-person tent. And a campfire to keep us warm if we wanted to sleep under the stars instead…

Sarah: *grins* Sam and I got into a food fight at his house once. He was trying to teach me how to make chocolate pudding so I’d stop buying James the gross premade stuff from the store, but the whisk got away from me—

Sam: You threw it at me.

Sarah: You deserved it! You smeared chocolate all over my cheek.

Sam: Because I was planning to kiss it off of you.

Sarah: Wait. You were going to…kiss the chocolate off me?

Sam: Yes, that was the plan. But instead, we spent the next three hours washing chocolate out of my mom’s flower arrangements, scrubbing chocolate out of the rug, wiping chocolate off of the wallpaper…

Sarah: …maybe we should try to make another box? I never did get to see how the pudding turned out, and it would be great if I didn’t have to buy James the other kind anymore… *blushes*

Sam: *gives her a heated look* How’s tomorrow sound?

+ OMG, you guys are too cute!Can you each share one memory of each other that really stuck out to you?

Sarah: The first time I saw Sam will probably always stick out to me. James had climbed the really tall cedar tree at our elementary school and was too scared to climb back down. Not that he’d admit he was scared or anything, but he climbed too high and the branches where he was were too thin for any of the teachers to climb up and get him. They were about to call the fire department when all of a sudden, the new boy takes off his coat and starts climbing the tree. He made it all the way up to where James was in, like, half the time and just sat there with him, talking. Like the wind making the tree creak wasn’t scary or half the school wasn’t standing at the bottom watching him. And then the next thing everyone knew, the boy was climbing down and James was following him. Everyone rushed over to James when he finally made it to the ground, even me, but the new boy just faded into the crowd and disappeared. *turns to Sam* What did you say to get him to come down? He never told me.

Sam: I, uh… *rubs the back of his neck* I might have told him his sister looked cold standing at the bottom of the tree without a coat on, and if he didn’t climb down and walk her home, I was going to give her my coat and walk her home myself.

Sarah: And the first thing he did when he got down was give me his coat. Oh my god, Sam! No wonder he never let me anywhere near you.

Sam: I was ten. I wasn’t exactly thinking long term. My favorite memory of you, though. Hmm. My favorite memory—before we got together, I should say—is probably the day Alex kissed you in the shed.

Sarah: *gasps* You knew? I didn’t think anyone saw!

Sam: I had a feeling Alex was up to something, so I made an excuse to run outside. But before I figured out where you guys went, you threw open the shed door and stomped out wearing what had to be the scariest expression I’ve ever seen on a girl’s face. I didn’t find out what had happened until after, but he told me you’d kicked him in the shin. I also knew I wanted to be the next guy to kiss you.

Sarah: *shocked laughter* Why? You wanted me to kick you, too?

Sam: No, because I knew I’d have a shot with you if you didn’t.

+ Those are wonderful memories!Speaking of James...I love him, possibly as much as you guys do. What do you think is the best and worst thing about him?

Sam: I think how devoted he is to Sarah is the best thing about him. The worst thing is not trusting anyone enough to let them in. Things wouldn’t be this bad if he let someone in.

Sarah: He’d kill himself if it meant saving me. It’s the best and worst thing about him.

+ *sigh* Couldn't have said it better. Can you tell us one thing about yourselves that we don’t already know?

Sarah: Sometimes I think about enrolling in a self-defense class. The one time I mentioned it to James, he said he’d rather teach me how to fight. But there’s no way I can hit my brother, you know?

Sam: I’ll take you to sign up tomorrow, if you want.

Sarah: Yeah, okay. Thanks.

Sam: Something you don’t already know about me. Hmm. Well… *gives Sarah a sheepish look* …I know it’s probably too soon and Sarah’s totally going to freak out, but I’m thinking about getting another tattoo. Something that has her name tangled up with mine.

Sarah: Sam…

Sam: *kisses Sarah*

+ Sheez, can you guys get any more sweeter?! I love you guys! So.. do you guys have any regrets? Anything you’d like to change at all?

Sarah: That I didn’t tell Sam how I felt a while ago instead of waiting for him to notice me.

Sam: Same. If I could go back in time, I’d have asked her to Homecoming her freshman year and spent the whole night proving I was the guy for her.

Sarah: James would’ve killed you.

Sam: He would’ve tried. Doesn’t matter.

That’s it! Thanks so much Sam and Sarah! It’s been a pleasure to have you on my blog! You guys are the best. Please tell Kate that I absolutely adore her and can't wait for her next book! :)

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The Giveaway!

And now for the prizes! Kate is giving away a small book charm on a bracelet and a dog tag to one lucky commenter. The book charm is one of the popular charms made by Sophie’s Beads. All you have to do is leave a comment about your favorite contemporary YA romance couple, along with your email address. Today’s giveaway is only open to US residents, but keep an eye out for International giveaways scheduled throughout the tour.

Kate is also running an Ultimate FLAWED Fan Pack contest via the Rafflecopter listing below. Enter daily for a chance to win some really cool stuff!

Review Requests

I am temporarily closing up my review requests for the time being.

About Me

Jessirae is the name.

Book Lover/Blogger/Reviewer magnifico with a growing love for Young Adult, New Adult and Adult books that may occasionally be devoured in between. A public health graduate who is obssessed with reading books and blasting her iPod to maximum for intense music listening and who constantly keeps track of her favorite TV shows. A certified Arizona Green Tea addict with a heart's desire to claim Jared Lynburn as her own personal book boyfriend. Lover of all things chocolate, candy and sugary sweets. I never back down from a fight, but would rather stay in to read a good book than party hard any day.I say, if it looks good, read it!